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Monday, April 3, 2017

Perspirator or Perpetrator-Take 2

While taking a stroll with my husband, Alan, another disturbing
experience on the Highland Canal bike path occurred. A man clearly out of place
had stopped on his bike next to a group of little girls who were playing at a
park just1000 feet from the path. He stared at these children with intensity like
he was watching a porn flick. It was so disturbing I asked Alan to stop so we
could keep the girls safe. We pretended to enjoy the scenery just to keep our
eye on him because after my last blog about a suspicious character on the path,
a teenager was assaulted a mere 9 days later. At the time, we couldn’t do
anything about the guy because he was only looking suspicious. My heart fell
when I heard the news and I began to weep as I talked to the crime stoppers’
hotline. This unfortunate assault could have been prevented. I then emailed my
blog article to Channel 7 news as soon as I learned the teenage girl was
assaulted but neither the police nor the news contacted me for further
information.

Therefore, witnessing another potential crime in the same
general area as the teenager’s assault, we decided to be the Path Patrol in
order to prevent these three little girls or anyone else for that matter from
being hurt. We approached the kids and pointed the man out hoping he would see we
were talking about him yet he continued staring. He moved his bike in two-feet increments
then turned back to stare at them. Eventually he noticed our presence and moved
forward about 100 feet to see if we’d moved on. We decided to stay behind him
and watch him. He started hiding his face as it became clear we were following
him. Soon another strange man joined him on the path and we simply watched
them. The older man started scouting out different avenues they could take. He pointed
out an area on the Cherry Creek path as though they were recalculating their next move and resorting to Plan B.
The older guy soon realized we were suspicious and pretended he didn’t know where
he was by asking us which path led to Parker Road. I deliberately pointed in
the opposite direction that would have kept him on the Highland Canal path because
we witnessed him instructing his partner to go on Cherry Creek. He looked confuses
and froze seemingly not knowing what to do when he was misdirected. I think he anticipated we’d tell
him to go in the direction he instructed his friend to follow. His friend had
gone ahead on the Cherry Creek Path and had stopped to wait on him—watching us.
Alan and I decided to go in the direction of his friend and the old man just
stood there seemingly perplexed. We followed the younger man on the bike for about 30 minutes
because the guy would only move a foot or two waiting for his partner who we
must of spooked off because the guy never caught up to him. We warned a mother
of three to stick close together as they passed the guy on the bike. I looked
at the man and gesture in a manner that would suggest we were talking about him and then the mother took my lead and scoped him out. We did this to
show him silently we were watching him—hoping to thwart any possible attack. Alan and I watched her pass the man and then we went to a nearby bridge
and watched him for about 10 more minutes. The path was finally beginning to fill up with
other bicyclists and runners, so we decided we could stop standing guard and finish our walk.

Were these two men simply exploring nature or were they
looking for prey? My guess is the latter because their attire didn’t look
appropriate for the path. They kept meeting up at different places as to not be too obvious and the one would not show his face. One might think that the older guy was just an old man out for a stroll but his bizarre behavior suggested otherwise.

This is the third “alleged” crime we’ve witnessed in the
last month and I am disturbed by the lack of response I’ve gotten. Our children
are being stalked, assaulted, raped and murdered and the unsettling feeling
these guys created for us made us believe they were looking around for their
next victim. I am forwarding a picture of the two men in an effort to protect
others but not to assume these two were anything but weird (hopefully). In this country we
are innocent until proven guilty but there isn’t any reason why we cannot be
aware of the dangers out there. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

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About Me

CHANCE founder and director Christina M. Dalpiaz is an accomplished speaker with degrees in psychology and early childhood education.
A retired Lt. Commander in the US Naval Reserve, Ms. Dalpiaz has served as victim's advocate, trainer, mediator, counselor, and parenting strategist.
Christina has dedicated her life to helping reduce the impact violence has on parents, children, and intimate relationships. She currently provides tools, techniques and replacement skills for parents and professionals who seek innovative ways of protecting families from the ravages of violence and abuse.
Author of books and CDs covering topics including parenting, abuse, mental illness, and recovery, Ms. Dalpiaz has been a guest on a variety of radio and television talk shows including HLN's Dr. Drew and Nancy Grace. She is also a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops.